BILL NUMBER: AB 2286	CHAPTERED  09/30/00

	CHAPTER   964
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 30, 2000
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 29, 2000
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 29, 2000
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 28, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 25, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JULY 6, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 20, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 16, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 3, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 24, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Davis and Lempert

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2000

   An act to amend Sections 5811, 5812, 5813, 5814, 5815, 5816, and
5817 of, and to add Section 5815.5 to, the Public Resources Code,
relating to wetlands.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2286, Davis.  Wetlands.
   The existing Keene-Nejedly California Wetlands Preservation Act
required the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of
Fish and Game to conduct a joint study by January 15, 1978, to
identify the wetlands of the state that require acquisition and
preservation and authorized those departments to enter into operating
agreements with local entities for the management and control of
wetlands.
   This bill would require the Resources Agency to update all of the
state's existing wetlands inventory resources in order to prepare a
restoration, management, and acquisition study to accomplish
specified goals, including identification of restoration and
enhancement opportunities in the state for wetlands in public
ownership; identification of a means of protecting and enhancing
existing wetlands in public ownership; identification of
opportunities for voluntary public-private partnerships for wetlands
restoration, enhancement, and management on private lands;
identification of the wetlands in the state that are not currently in
public ownership; identification of additional recreational benefits
that can be provided on existing, restored, or newly created
wetlands in public ownership; provision of a basis for the inclusion
of wetlands data in the California Continuing Resources Investment
Strategy Project (CCRISP); identification of wetlands on lands owned
by federal agencies in California; and identification of these
instances where lead agencies have adopted mitigation measures
pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) or a
habitat conservation plan, or that utilize or reference wetlands
resources located on lands owned by the United States Department of
Defense.
   The bill would require the study to be submitted to the
Legislature by January 1, 2003.  The bill would also authorize the
California Coastal Conservancy to enter into an operating agreement
with a local entity for the management and control of wetlands.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 5811 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   5811.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The remaining wetlands of this state are of increasingly
critical economic, aesthetic, and scientific value to the people of
California, and that the need exists for an affirmative and sustained
public policy and program directed at their preservation,
restoration, and enhancement, in order that wetlands shall continue
in perpetuity to meet the needs of the people.
   (b) Although the state established a specific plan in 1979 for the
protection, acquisition, restoration, preservation, and management
of wetlands to be implemented through the year 2000, a need to update
this plan now exists, and the process should include the
identification of priorities for wetland conservation through the
year 2020.
   (c) California has established a successful program of regional,
cooperative efforts to protect, acquire, restore, preserve, and
manage wetlands.  These programs include, but are not limited to, the
Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture, the San Francisco Bay Joint
Venture, the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project, and the
Inter-Mountain West Joint Venture.  These public-private
partnerships, wherever practicable, shall be the primary means of
achieving the objectives of this chapter.
   (d) Active and voluntary involvement by private landowners in
wetlands conservation, restoration, and enhancement contributes
significantly to the long-term availability and productivity of
wetlands in the state.
   (e) With the passage of Propositions 12 and 13 in March 2000, the
people of California have provided the state with unprecedented
financial resources to acquire, restore, preserve, and manage
wetlands.  There is a pressing need for state agencies that are
responsible for wetlands conservation to develop and disseminate a
wetlands conservation strategy for review by the general public, for
use by the Legislature in the annual budget process, for use by local
public agencies in pursuing local and regional wetlands conservation
programs, and for use by state agencies updating existing programs
for acquiring, restoring, preserving, and managing wetlands
resources.
  SEC. 2.  Section 5812 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   5812.  As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly
requires a different meaning, the following terms mean:
   (a) "Agency" means the Resources Agency.
   (b) "Departments" means the Department of Parks and Recreation,
the Department of Fish and Game, and the California Coastal
Conservancy.
  SEC. 3.  Section 5813 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   5813.  (a) Nothing in this chapter  abrogates or supersedes any
existing local, state, or federal law or policy pertaining to
wetlands, or establishes maximum or minimum standards or any other
requirement for wetlands fill or mitigation.  Additionally, nothing
in this chapter  shall be construed to create any new legal
obligations for private landowners, or for lands owned by the United
States Department of Defense, for wetlands inventories, wetlands
management requirements, or any other regulatory requirements
pertaining to wetlands use or conversion.
   (b) Any of the departments may acquire interests in real property
less than the fee, including, but not limited to, acquisition of
development rights, when it determines that acquisition of the lesser
interest will accomplish the purposes of this chapter in furthering
the public's interest in the protection, preservation, restoration,
and enhancement of wetlands.
  SEC. 4.  Section 5814 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   5814.  (a) The agency shall update all of the state's existing
wetlands inventory resources in order to prepare a study to
accomplish the following goals:
   (1) To identify the restoration and enhancement opportunities in
the state for wetlands in public ownership.
   (2) To identify means of protecting and enhancing existing
wetlands in public ownership and to identify additional recreational
benefits and opportunities that are compatible with the primary goal
of maximizing the habitat value of wetlands.
   (3) To identify opportunities for voluntary public-private
partnerships for wetlands restoration, enhancement, and management on
private lands.
   (4) To identify those wetlands of particular significance in the
state that are not currently in public ownership for which there is
believed  to be a willing seller.
   (5) To identify additional recreational benefits that can be
provided on existing, restored, or newly created wetlands in public
ownership or for which there is a cooperative agreement for public
use by a private landowner and a local, state, or federal agency.
   (6) To provide a basis for the inclusion of wetlands data and
information in the California Continuing Resources Investment
Strategy Project (CCRISP), which was funded in the Budget Act of
2000.
   (7) To identify, utilizing existing resources, wetlands on lands
owned by federal agencies in California and those wetlands that are
protected by existing wetlands management and conservation mandates
imposed by federal law.
   (8) To identify, in conjunction with the Office of Planning and
Research, those instances where lead agencies have adopted mitigation
measures pursuant to Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000), or
natural community conservation plans prepared pursuant to Chapter 10
(commencing with Section 2800) of the Fish and Game Code, that
utilize or reference wetland resources located on lands owned by the
United States Department of Defense.
   (b) The agency shall consult and cooperate with counties cities,
other appropriate state and federal agencies with an interest in
wetlands resources, and willing landowners in conducting the study.
The study shall be submitted to the Legislature not later than
January 1, 2003, and shall set forth, for consideration by the
Legislature, a plan for the acquisition, protection, preservation,
restoration, and enhancement of wetlands, including funding
requirements and the priority status of specific proposed wetlands
projects.
  SEC. 5.  Section 5815 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   5815.  The agency, in preparing the wetlands priority plan and
program pursuant to Section 5814, shall give particular recognition
to the conservation, recreation, and open-space plans and programs of
local agencies, and shall, wherever feasible and appropriate,
identify and devise cooperative means for planning and for the
protection and preservation of wetlands by local agencies.
  SEC. 5.5.  Section 5815.5 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
   5815.5.  In compiling data for the wetlands inventory required by
Section 5814, the agency and the departments shall, as a first
priority, rely on existing sources of information and data.  If the
agency determines that ground surveys are needed to supplement or
correct aerial and satellite imagery, the agency and the department
shall obtain the permission of any private landowner before entering
his or her property to gather information to complete the wetlands
inventory.
  SEC. 6.  Section 5816 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   5816.  The agency shall give particular recognition to
opportunities for protecting and preserving wetlands lying within, or
adjacent to, existing units of the state park system or other
state-owned lands protected and managed primarily as wildlife
habitat.
  SEC. 7.  Section 5817 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
   5817.  Any of the departments may enter into operating agreements
with cities, counties, and districts for the management and control
of wetlands, or interests in wetlands, acquired pursuant to this
chapter.  However, any agreement shall ensure the protection and
preservation of the wetlands and ensure the right of use and
enjoyment of the wetlands by the people of the state.  Further, any
agreement entered into by the Department of Fish and Game pursuant to
this section shall provide that public use of lands and waters
subject to the agreement shall be in accordance with regulations
adopted by the Fish and Game Commission.
  SEC. 8.  The amendments to Section 5814 by this act shall only be
required to be implemented if until the Secretary of the Resources
Agency certifies, in writing, to the Secretary of State that
sufficient funds for implementation of those amendments have been
appropriated for that purpose in the annual Budget Act or other
legislation.
